Chapter 5: Ding Qian Kun
"Young Miss, you’re back late—Mr. An just left!" Liu Ayi greeted An Wen as she entered.
"Mr. An?" An Wen asked, puzzled.
"Mr. An brought a gift for you. Let me fetch it for you." Liu Ayi picked up the gift bag from the sofa and handed it to An Wen. "He still cares deeply for you. He was very worried when he heard about your injury, but he had urgent matters to attend to, so he had to leave."
In An Wen’s memory, she had returned to the country alone. Who was this "Mr. An"?
It was only her second day here, and she hadn’t fully absorbed all the original owner’s memories yet.
"Liu Ayi, is dinner ready?" An Wen changed the subject.
"Dinner is ready. I’ll bring it out right away," Liu Ayi replied before heading to the kitchen.
An Wen took the gift upstairs, placing both her schoolbag and the gift on the bed before going back down for dinner.
That night, after drying her hair, An Wen sat in her nightgown browsing the web.
[‘Ding Qian Kun’ Casting Call—The Next Star Could Be You!]
Scrolling further, she saw comments revealing the drama’s star-studded lineup, featuring several veteran actors. The male lead was Xia Jin, a top-tier A-list actor currently at the peak of his popularity, while the female lead was Ye Xiaoxing, a critically acclaimed A-list actress.
An Wen searched for the official Weibo page of Ding Qian Kun. The top ten comments under the announcement post were all from the male lead’s fans, with the most-liked comment reaching a staggering 43,000 likes—terrifying.
The twelfth most popular comment, however, was from a book fan.
[Zun Shen descends upon the world, and all bow as his subjects! Glory to the Moyun Sect!]
Further down, more book fans chimed in.
[I can’t believe they’re really adapting this into a drama. Xia Jin is handsome, but his acting is stiff—he can only portray Zun Shen’s coldness, not his tenderness. I refuse to let a wooden face play my Zun Shen!]
[Shivering in fear—please spare us from the brainless fans! If the acting is bad, we won’t hold back our criticism!]
[My box of razor blades is ready. Screenwriters and directors, you’ve been warned.]
[As a book fan, I have a few requests: 1) Zun Shen isn’t emotionless—director, please don’t let the male lead act like he did in his last drama; 2) Remove Qing Nü Shen’s scenes—no one in the entire entertainment industry can do her justice; 3) Screenwriters, please read the source material carefully. Do you really want the cast and crew to suffer backlash for a botched adaptation?]
The announcement post had 230,000 reposts, 340,000 comments, and 206,000 likes. Such massive engagement wasn’t solely driven by the actors’ fans—book fans played a significant role too.
Switching the comment display from "Top Comments" to "Newest First," the floodgates opened. Without fan moderation, the comment section was a battlefield of insults.
[Qing Nü Shen is the only one left unannounced—please delete her scenes!]
[Xia Jin’s divine looks perfectly match my vision of Zun Shen!]
[I’ve followed this book for four years and reread it over ten times during book droughts. I won’t let anyone ruin it. I’ve memorized every actor in Ding Qian Kun—when the drama airs, I’ll carve each name onto a tombstone.]
This last comment was excessively aggressive, sparking heated replies.
[The drama is the drama, the book is the book. Are Ding Qian Kun book fans always this toxic? If you don’t like it, don’t watch it.]
[Carve your ancestors’ names instead, you idiot! I’ll burn paper money for your whole family during Qingming Festival!]
Below, some tried to mediate while others escalated the fight. With so many conflicting opinions, it was no wonder the post had such explosive engagement.
The official announcement blog post was still from two days ago, yet the debates showed no signs of stopping even after all this time.
An Wen grew tired of the fan wars and the clashes between book fans and actor fans, so she exited the official blog. However, her eyes caught a trending topic on Weibo's hot search bar: [Which Female Star in the Entertainment Industry is Suitable to Play Qing Sha?].
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